Board of Directors

Board of Directors

DiabetesSisters Board of Directors - January 2023
DiabetesSisters Board of Directors - January 2023
Top row, l-r: Barbara Eichorst, Tricia Cedotal, Anna Norton (past CEO), David Warren, Andrea Thomas
Bottom row, l-r: Donna Rice (COO), Deborah Greenwood, Michele Polz (CEO)

Deborah Greenwood

Deborah A. Greenwood, PhD, RN, BC-ADM, CDCES, FADCES
(Board Member, 2016-2024), CHAIR

Deborah Greenwood is currently Manager, Medical Science Liaison on the Clinical Education team at Dexcom. Greenwood is a co-founder of A Fresh POV for You, a blog to guide healthcare professionals in a solution-focused approach to practice. She has a Ph.D. in nursing science and healthcare leadership, is a diabetes care and education specialist, a researcher, and a clinical nurse specialist, board-certified in advanced diabetes management. Greenwood is an Adjunct, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health, San Antonio, School of Nursing, and was the 2015 President of AADE (now the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists).

David M. Warren
(Board Member, 2015-2024), TREASURER

Judge Warren was appointed to the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in February 2014. Prior to his appointment, he was a partner in the Raleigh and Rocky Mount offices of Poyner Spruill LLP, where he concentrated his practice in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial law. Judge Warren received his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laud, from Wake Forest University and his Juris Doctorate degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law. He has been certified as a state and national specialist in business and consumer bankruptcy law since 1992. He is a former national president of Kappa Alpha Order, a college social fraternity with over 130 chapters, and currently is the chairman of FRMT, Ltd., a captive insurance company that insures dozens of national fraternities. Judge Warren is married to Keena Bartley, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 18 months of age. They have a grown daughter, Ashley, and son, McLean, age 24. He proudly professes himself to be a person with type 3 diabetes as Keena's diabetes management partner.

Barbara Eichorst, MS, RD, DCES
(Board Member 2020 - 2024), SECRETARY

Barbara Eichorst, MS, RD, DCES, is the Vice President of Health Programs at the American Diabetes Association. Prior to that, she was AVP of Clinical Practice and Research at CenterWell. Her work includes Healthy Interactions as VP of Clinical Care on a global program that involved over 120 countries. Barbara's experience includes work as an insulin education specialist, digital therapeutics clinical liaison, and at the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists as a program director. Her clinical work involves Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center, Northwestern Hospital, and Loyola University Medical Center. Barbara's focus is on behavioral interventions in disease management. She has contributed to multiple publications with her expertise in change activation, empowerment, and engagement.

Michele Polz
(Board Member, 2016-2024), Immediate Past Chair, Acting CEO

Ms. Polz is the founder and principal of M1 Consulting, whose passion and goal is to collaborate with clients to design impactful data-driven customer acquisition and retention models leading to bottom-line results. She advises within Digital Health Technology, Biotech/Pharma companies from early discovery through life-cycle management, focusing on integrated care and value-based models. Before consulting, Michele spent six years in Life Sciences, both at Sanofi and Biogen. In her roles at both organizations, she was responsible for the development and operationalizing modern consumer strategies that led to new approaches to connect to the patient and the care networks across the lifecycle; improving the overall customer experience. She is an advocate for putting the patient first.

Donna Rice

Donna Rice MBA, BSN, RN, CDCES, FADCES
(Board Member, 2015-2024), Past Chair, Acting COO

Donna Rice is a registered nurse and a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She is a national and international thought leader, author of four books, and numerous peer-reviewed and consumer publications. She is a Past President of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists and has held numerous positions on state and national committees related to diabetes care. She is currently the Chief Evangelist for Call-ai, working on voice-driven ai for diabetes care and education since October 2022. She has recently served as the Chief Strategy and Population Health Officer for The Root Cause, working on diabetes in high-risk communities. Prior to The Root Cause, she was a Senior Medical Director for Sanofi, focused on Integrated Care and Digital Engagement. She was also appointed the President of the Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute for Baylor Health Care Systems in Dallas, Texas. Donna has been a board member of DiabetesSisters since 2015 and has served as Chair from 2018 to 2019.

Tricia Cedotal
(Board Member, 2015-2024)

Tricia Cedotal is the Global Lead; Access, Advocacy and Scientific Leadership at LifeScan Global Corporation. Prior to her role at LifeScan, she was the Managing Director of Corporate Alliances at the American Diabetes Association, where she was responsible for strategy, partnerships and collaborative alignments with Health Care companies within the Diabetes ecosystem. Tricia previously enjoyed a 14 year distinguished career with Johnson & Johnson in Diabetes, most recently as the Lead for Global Professional Relations in the World Wide Marketing Organization of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care Companies. Prior to this role, she worked with Global Strategic Affairs at Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care Franchise and was a part of the Professional Education Team at the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute. Between 2008 and 2011, she was a member of the Field Sales Leadership Team that achieved 40% growth, serving as lead for strategic execution of professional relations activity with thought leaders in the diabetes industry. Tricia’s entire career has encompassed marketing, public relations and sales experience. Just prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, she served as the Business Development Director for advertising agencies in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA, USA. Tricia was also President and CEO of a marketing, public relations and training firm in Louisiana, specializing in the health care and oil and gas industries. Tricia began her career in non-profit and served as Executive Director for a rehabilitation center; serving on numerous boards and a state commission. During the course of her career, Tricia developed Type 1 Diabetes. Over time, she became an advocate for patient education and behavior change needs in diabetes.

Shelby Kinnaird

Shelby Kinnaird, MS, MA
(Board Member/PODS Representative, 2019-2024)

Shelby Kinnaird, author of The Diabetes Cookbook for Electric Pressure Cookers and The Pocket Carbohydrate Counter Guide for Diabetes, and founder of Put on Your Apron and host of Cook & Chat with Shelby". She has been involved with DiabetesSisters since 2017 and currently serves as the PODS Leader for two groups in Richmond, VA. Shelby is also a member of the American Diabetes Association’s Virginia Advocacy Council and has attended the ADA’s Calls to Congress since 2017. A former software engineering manager, Shelby holds a BS in Mathematics from Virginia Tech, an MS in Applied Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University, and an MA in Publication Design from the University of Baltimore. She was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1999.

Andrea Thomas
(Board Member 2016-2024)

Ms. Thomas is the President and CEO for the United Planning Organization (UPO) in Washington, DC, where she guides and oversees the Communications, Development, Technology, Advocacy and Volunteerism Divisions to guide critical change and business information integration for the organization. Prior to serving in an executive capacity with the organization, she joined the agency in 2007 to serve as the director for the newly formed Youth Services Division. Throughout her career, she has pursued her passion for encouraging higher education for low-income and under-represented youth through her work with various community organizations including: the Consortium of Universities, District of Columbia Community Prevention Partnership and the Institute for HIgher Education Policy. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of California, Davis, and a Master of Arts in Education Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Maryland, College Park. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008, Ms. Thomas has a particular interest in the health and well-being of professional women who are living with diabetes.

John Buse, MD, PhD
(Founding Board Member, 2008-2014)

Dr. Buse is a former President of the Medicine & Science Division of the American Diabetes Association (2008). He is also the Chief of the Endocrinology Division of the Department of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Buse is a former Associate Editor of Diabetes Care and Clinical Diabetes. He is also the Vice-Chair of the National Health Institutes' (NIH's), largest diabetes study ever, called the ACCORD Trial. He is also an active clinician with a UNC-based diabetes practice in Chapel Hill, NC.